Gershwin Rhapsody

by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Michael Feinstein

Overview

The 100th anniversary of the Rhapsody in Blue premiere has produced a flood of new recordings of that masterwork, but this isn't one of them; the Rhapsody in Blue shows up only in a couple of snatches in an opening medley. Instead, what is on offer is a kind of meeting of the minds between musicians from two different worlds, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the versatile Michael Feinstein on piano and vocals. Gershwin's songs are presented in various arrangements, for piano solo (Thibaudet is a fine Gershwin pianist), two pianos, or voice and piano. Several times the two musicians present the same song in two different guises, bringing home the fact that Gershwin, with only Bach and perhaps Astor Piazzolla as competition, retains his essence as his music reworked more than any other composer. Feinstein is a veteran with an appealing conversational way in the songs, and the varied arrangements by Tedd Firth, with some by Feinstein himself or Earl Wild, keep things constantly shifting. In fact, one of the few possible complaints here is that Gershwin himself addressed his songs' malleability in the George Gershwin Song-Book, an underrated collection in which he showed how he might have played these songs in performance. At only 47 minutes plus, the album had room for a few of these, and they might have added another layer. As it stands now, however, the album is a unique entry in the 2024 Gershwin market, nicely recorded at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall in Los Angeles. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	02/23/2024
Label:	Decca
UPC:	0028948700752
Rank:	70944

Tracks

1. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Rhapsody in Blue
2. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Someone to Watch Over Me (from Oh Kay!)
3. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Someone to Watch Over Me (from Oh Kay!)
4. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~I Got Rhythm (from Girl Crazy)
5. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Embraceable You (from Girl Crazy)
6. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Embraceable You (from Girl Crazy)
7. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Sweet and Low-Down (from Tip-Toes)
8. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~Clap Yo' Hands (from Oh Kay!) & Fascinating Rhythm (from Lady Be Good)
9. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~They Can't Take That Away from Me (from Shall We Dance)
10. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~They Can't Take That Away from Me (from Shall We Dance)
11. Rhapsody in Blue Medley~The Man I Love (from Lady Be Good) & Rhapsody in Blue
12. Tea for Two
13. Sleepless Night
14. Shall We Dance~Graceful and Elegant
15. Love Is Here to Stay (from The Goldwyn Follies)
16. Shall We Dance~Dance of the Waves
17. Rialto Ripples
18. Sutton Place
19. East is West~Under the Cinnamon Tree
20. Porgy and Bess: Jasbo Brown Blues

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jean-Yves Thibaudet   Primary Artist,Piano
Michael Feinstein   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals

Technical Credits

Michael Feinstein   Composer
Will Donaldson   Composer
Joanne Baines   A&R
Paul Chessell   Cover Design
Francesco Perlangeli   Engineer
Various Composers   Composer
Dominic Fyfe   Executive Producer
Michael Blank   Photography
Frederick Vogler   Editing,Engineer,Recording Producer
Jenny Stewart   Label Manager
George Gershwin   Composer,Original Material
Ira Gershwin   Lyricist
Earl Wild   Composer
Tedd Firth   Arranger,Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer